Valve spacer tool



1963 LA VERNE A. CHRISMAN ETAL 3,114,965

VALVE SPACER TOOL I Filed Jan. 13, 1961 United States Patent Ollice Patented Dec. 24, 1963 3,114,965 VALVE SPACER TOOL La Verne A. Chrisman and Fredric C. Ryan, Lockport,

N.Y., assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 82,623 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-270) This invention relates to tools for use with valves and more particularly to tools for holding substantially unaccessible valves temporarily in spaced relation to their seats-i.e.-in their open positions thereby to facilitate the carrying out of some other objective such as the filling of an automotive cooling system with water.

in at least one automobile plant, thermostatic butterfly valves are preferably installed subsequently to control during use the flow of engine coolant from the engine cylinder jacket to the top tank of the radiator. The butterfly type of valve is utilized because such a valve, although difficult to reach in the cooling system assembly, may be temporarily held open with a soluble pellet inserted by pliers between the valve and its seat. This temporary open position is desirable in a high production line in order quickly to fill the cooling system with coolant. If the thermostatic valve were closed, air pockets would be present and filling of the cooling system would be slow and not certain.

it has now been discovered that poppet type thermostats may also be held open by soluble pellets. One of these pellets cannot be inserted with pliers in such a situation as poppet type thermostat valves cannot be reached by pliers successfully to position the pellets. A poppet type thermostat of the type herein discussed is disclosed in the United States Patent No. 2,881,616 granted April 14, 1959, in the names of H. J. Clifford and A. Schwarz. Not only ma the pellets be properly positioned with poppet type valves but the insertion of the pellets may be performed expeditiously in such valves with the use of the present invention.

An obiect of the present invention is to provide a tool for inserting a soluble pellet between the valve and seat of a poppet type valve. Another object is to provide a manually operable tool for opening a thermostatic poppet valve against a spring load urging it closed and for positioning a pellet to hold the valve open.

A feature of the invention is a tool adapted to open a poppet type valve with means incorporated in the tool for inserting a soluble pellet between the open valve and its seat and releasing the pellet in position effective upon withdrawal of the tool from the valve to hold the valve open.

These and other import-ant features of the invention will now be described in detail in the specification and then pointed out more particularly in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view through a portion of an automobile cooling system in which a closed thermostatic valve is installed, a tool forming one embodiment of the present invention being shown in position ready to be effective to open the valve and parts of the tool being broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a sec ion looking in the direction of the arrows 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower end of the tool and also a sectional view of the valve as shown in FIGURE 1 but with the valve held open by the tool and a soluble pellet being inserted by operation of the tool;

FEGURE 4 is a sectional view of the valve shown in FlGURE 3 but with the tool withdrawn and the soluble pellet in its operative position; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view looking in the direction of the arrows 5-5 in FIGURE 1.

in the drawings, a portion of an automobile cooling system is indicated generally at lll. This portion includes a water pump casting 12 and a thermostat cover 14 joined together with the peripheral flange of a thermostatic poppet type valve 16 interposed. The upper end of the cover 14- is adapted to be connected by a hose (not yet installed in the production line) to the top tank of a radiator as is conventional in man automobiles. The thermostat poppet type valve 16 is of the type mentioned or referred to in the patent previously mentioned. It sufiices here to say that this valve consists of an open framework ld, a pellet motor 2% which is slidably mounted in an aperture 22 on the frame 18, a valve 24 surrounding the pellet motor 20 and an annular seat member 2% the peripheral margin of which is the valve mounting flange. The member 26 also defines a main port 28. The valve 16 also includes a pin 30 which is fixed in position with respect to the open frame it; by means of a bridge portion 32 which is integral with the annular member 26. A helical spring 34 surrounds the pellet motor 29 and is adapted to urge the valve 24%- and the pellet motor 20 upwardly and in telescopic arrangement with the pin 39. The valve 24 is adapted, because of the spring loading, to seat at 27 upon the underside portion of the annular member 26 to close the port 28. The operation of these valves is well understood in the automotive field but it may be stated that when the engine coolant becomes sufiiciently heated, a change of state takes place in expansible wax within the motor 2d and the accompanying increase in volume of the wax forces the motor 2% downwardly and along the fixed pin 30 to open the valve. This action is against the spring 34 loading. When the coolant becomes cold and the wax volume reduces, the spring 34 efiectuates closure of the valve.

The tool in which the present invention is embodied comprises an elongated and substantially straight handle it) in which is formed 'a slot 42 extending lengthwise the handle and terminating near one or the lower end thereof at an outwardly inclined surface 44-. This surface is located in one of two legs of the handle. The two legs are separated by a kerf out in the handle. A bore 48 extends axially into the handle from the kerf merely to lighten the tool structure.

Resilient pellet restaining means in the form of a flat spring 51} is attached by means of screws 52V to the handle to cover a portion of the guideway. This spring has a flexing lower port-ion which extends downwardly almost to the outer end of the inclined surface i-l. The upper end of the spring Sit terminates a short distance above the screws 52 so that space exists above the spring or between the spring and an enlarged grip portion so of the handle for the insertion of a pellet into the guideway 52 as will further appear.

The enlarged grip portion 6d of the handle is longitudinally slotted to receive a fiat member 62. This member is held in place by means of two fasteners 64 and it is fabricated to receive a set screw 66 and a detent mechanism 68 at opposite ends. The set screw 66 has a reduced portion 7d entering the guideway 42. and is adapted to act as a stop means limiting the motion of a plunger 72 which is slid-able in the guideway. A slot 73 is formed in the plunger to receive the screw portion 7d. The detent mechanism 63 includes a spring pressed ball 74- which is adapted to enter a detent '76 formed near the upper end of the plunger. The extreme upper end of the plunger is fitted with a head 78 facilitating the pressing down of the plunger. Within the enlarged grip portion 6t) is located a secondary plunger 89 which is urged upwardly in a bore 81 by a coil spring 82 into engagement with the underside of the head 78.

Assuming that the cooling system of which the portion 10 is a part to be filled with engine coolant, the hose connection between the top of the radiator and the cover 14- not having yet been attached, a water soluble pellet S6 is placed in the slot 52; between the spring 56 and the enlarged grip portion. The handle 46 is then inserted through the opening in the cover 14 with the bifurcated end of the tool pointed downwardly and straddling the thermostat bridge 32 as shown in FIGURE 1. The grip portion 69 is then pushed down to compress the valve spring 3 5 as shown in FIGURE 3. The downward force is effective because of the substantially straight form of the handle til. With the valve now in its open position, the head 78 is then pushed downwardly with the thumb with the result that the pellet 36 is forced downwardly by the plunger 72 and is cammed outwardly by the surface 4 4 and into position between the valve seat 27 of the element 26 and the valve 24. The retaining member 50 cooperates with the surface to form a restriction and yields to permit partial discharge of the pellet 86 from the handle 4% and the detent 76 indicates to the operator the extent of downward motion of the head '73 essential to bring this about. If this extent were exceeded, the purpose of the tool obviously would be defeated. With the pellet properly positioned beneath the seat 27, the handle 4i is lifted up from the valve with simultaneous further downward movement of the plunger 89 with respect to the handle completely to release the pellet 86 from the restrictive action of the spring 5%). The result is that the pellet S6 is now held between the valve 24 and its seat 27, to hold the valve in its open position as indicated in FIGURE 4. The cooling system may then be filled quickly, the proper hose connection completed, and the pellet 86 will dissolve leaving the valve 16 operative.

The pellet S6 is made of soluble material which will dissolve after a short period in contact with the engine coolant. This period need only be of sufiicient length to permit an operator to fill the system beneath the valve with coolant. The soluble material of the pellet must not be such as to affect the cooling system adversely and subsequent heating of the engine may or may not be necessary in causing the pellet to dissolve. A suitable composition for the pellet 86 obviously would be a synthetic wax or some polymeric solid which would be Water soluble under the conditions obtaining.

We claim:

1. A valve spacer tool comprising an elongated and substantially straight handle with one end bifurcated to form a leg, said handle defining a guideway extending 9 along the length of the handle and terminating with an outwardly inclined surface within said leg, spring means cooperating with said surface to define a restriction, a plunger slidable in said guideway and accessible at the other end of said handle, and the arrangement being such that a relative movement of said plunger with respect to said handle will cause one end of said plunger to approach said restriction.

2. A valve spacer tool comprising an elongated handle with a straight bifurcated end with at least one leg, said handle defining a guideway extending along the length of the handle, one end of said guideway terminating with an outwardly inclined surface located in the said one leg, at plunger slidable in said guideway and accessible at the other end of said handle, resilient retaining means arranged adjacent said inclined surface and adapted yieldingly to retain a pellet within said guideway, spring means in said handle urging said plunger in a direction away from said inclined surface, stop means including a detent arrangement determining the extent of sliding motion of said plunger with respect to said handle, and the arrangement being such that a motion of said plunger toward said inclined surface is adapted to eject a pellet previously retained in said guideway along said inclined surface and from said guideway.

3. A valve spacer tool comprising an elongated straight handle defining a guideway extending along its length, an outwardly inclined cam surface determining one end of said guideway near one end of said handle, a first plunger slidable in said guideway and having a head accessible for manipulation at the other end of said handle, yieldable means cooperating with said cam surface to form a restrictive outlet to said guideway, a secondary plunger slidable with respect to said handle, spring means urging said secondary plunger away from said one end of said handle and against said head, and detent means on said handle and first plunger and adapted to be effective to retain said first plunger with one end of the latter in con tact with said cam surface, and said one end of said plunger when so positioned being adapted to cooperate with said restrictive outlet in retaining a pellet in a position of partial ejection.

4. A valve spacer tool such as set forth in claim 3 in which said handle has an enlarged grip portion through which said first plunger and said guideway extend.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 829,119 Mellen Aug. 21, 1906 1,326,089 Payne Dec. 23, 1919 1,469,004 Holtz Sept. 25, 1923 1,631,063 Rognley May 31, 1927 

1. A VALVE SPACER TOOL COMPRISING AN ELONGATED AND SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT HANDLE WITH ONE END BIFURCATED TO FORM A LEG, SAID HANDLE DEFINING A GUIDEWAY EXTENDING ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE HANDLE AND TERMINATING WITH AN OUTWARDLY INCLINED SURFACE WITHIN SAID LEG, SPRING MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID SURFACE TO DEFINE A RESTRICTION, A 